The Lightning Strike
by TheXWandererXWithin
Summary: What REALLY happened during The Kira Case. Delve straight into the true and unabridged version of Death Note. Rated T for violence and occasional gore. May frighten some readers as story goes on. Proceed at personal risk.
1. Owned

OWNED

I finished off making my PB & J sandwich and sat down at the small and scrubbed wooden table that served as my dining area. While I chewed, I watched the wall in front of me, without seeing it. This was an old apartment. I had rented it a year ago, when I had first come to this place and decided to base my work in Japan, because it was such a concentrated area for my line of study. And it had the perfect place to use my alibi…

Tohl University.

Everyone there was terrified of me of course, and they had reason to be. After all, isn't having a blind, yet perfectly adept seventeen year-old girl walking around campus kind of creepy?  
But, I have to admit, being avoided constantly was kind of lonely, but I could get used to it.

It's not my fault Humans are weird like that.

I glanced down in surprise as I noticed that I had eaten half of the sandwich already. It's not as if I could actually _see_ the sandwich, or anything else for that matter, but I still looked around like a normal person, just so I could feel better about my blindness. I placed the crumby sandwich down on a napkin and walked over to the window. It was about 6:30, and people were walking around outside, aimlessly or purposely, unaware that they were in immediate danger. They couldn't see the shadows. I could feel them though. Watching and waiting. Watching and waiting.

I shook my head, sending stray bits of brown hair into a frenzy. I remembered being told what I looked like by my Nurse once. I was fourteen.  
She said that even though I was blind, my foggy-green eyes still sparkled when I was happy.

She told me that I had long brown hair that was straight, yet almost completely untamable; she portrayed it as many layers of thick, spikes and strands of glossy hair. My tallness was surprising to her, as most of my father's family was short, not including my father himself. Back then, my mother dressed me. Nowadays, without her, I stick to an old, red school uniform without the tie and button-up shirt. Instead I chose a white, round-necked t-shirt that exposes my collar bone; a red v-necked school jersey over that; a short, red-plaid skirt, and a pair of pink converses. Not that I knew that - not _really_. I had to get someone to tell me what they were when I was buying them. I have the same clothes in my drawers. That's all I have. Besides some diamond studs and a red-stoned pendant, I have nothing. That's it.

I sighed and made my way over to my large, moth-bitten couch and sat down. I crossed my legs and turned on the T.V. It was the news channel. I felt my way along the buttons, working out the number for Comedy Central. But, before I could continue spelling it out, the News reporter actually said something interesting for once.

_"Last night in the West Tokyo Benedentary, now Kikora Hayama, originally sentenced to fifteen years for armed robbery, is reported to have died of a sudden heart-attack at the age of 32. This is just the most recent death in a growing number of deadly cases involving inmates dying suspiciously of cardiac arrest…"_

'_Ah, Kira huh? I bet you could beat him, eh, Wanda?'_

'_Shut up.'_

I had heard about this. This wasn't good either. I know that criminals are bad and all, but killing them is just wrong. This must have been Kira, killing them all.  
Kira was a person who had been killing criminals. Obviously this 'Kira' thinks that they're passing 'righteous' judgment, but I say otherwise. Whoever it is, they must be crazy to think what they're doing is good.

_"We'd like to apologize for the interruption; as of now we're bring you a live worldwide broadcast from Enterprise ICPO."_

I began listening intently, straining my ears. This was important.

_"We now take you live to the ICPO."_

A man came on the screen. He was obviously the head of the ICPO, or else he wouldn't be the one talking.

_"I'm head of international police task force which includes all member nations. I am Lind L. Tailor, other wise known as L."_

I gasped. He was L?! He couldn't possibly be could he?

_"Criminals around the world are being murdered by a serial killer. I consider this crime to be the most atrocious act of murder in history. I will not rest until the person or persons responsible are brought to justice. Kira, I will hunt you down; I will find you." "Kira, I've got a pretty good idea what your motivation might be, and I can guess what you hope achieve. However, what you're doing… is evil."_

I waited. They waited. Anticipation was growing in everyone's guts. L was waiting for Kira's response. And I had a gut-wrenching feeling that he was going to get it.

L. I could almost guess what he was thinking.  
He thought Kira was probably astonishing and dumb-struck, watching this right now. He thought he had won.

But I knew better.

Suddenly, there was a choking sound on screen and a thump. I swallowed; my worthless eyes wide.  
"He's dead!" screamed a woman from off-screen.

Lind L. Tailor had just been killed.

By Kira.

I was shocked. I didn't realize he could kill that quickly.  
There was a 'dinging' noise from the T.V. speaker.

A voice that sounded just as shocked and incredulous as I was began to speak through a voice transmitter that made it sound as though it was electronic.

_"Auh, I had to test this just in case, but I-I did think it would actually happen.  
Kira, it seems you can kill people without having to be there in person. I wouldn't have believed it if I hadn't just witnessed it."_

There was a pause. I was frozen, staring where I knew the screen should be. What the hell?

"_Li__sten, to me Kira. If you did indeed kill Lind L. Tailor, the man you just saw die on television, I should tell you that he was an inmate, who's execution was scheduled for today.  
That was not me."_

I gasped for the second time that night. So Tailor was just a fake! L was still alive!

_"The police arrested him in absolute secrecy, so you wouldn't have heard about him on T.V. or through the internet. It appears that not even you have access to information about these types of criminals."_

Then voice began to become fiercer and more determined.

_"But I assure you, L is real. I do exist. Now, try to kill me! What's wrong? C'mon right now! Kill me! What's taking you? What's wrong? C'mon, kill me! Can't do it?!"_

I grinned. I liked this guy. Verryyy condescending! Perfect! Kira was probably really pissed off by then.

_"Well, Kira, it seems you can't kill me after all.  
So there are some people you can't kill. You've given me a useful hint!  
Let me return the favor. I'll tell you something that I think you'll find interesting. Although this is announced as a world-wide broadcast, the truth is, we are only broadcasting in the Kanto region of Japan. I had planned to broadcast this message around the world until we found you, but it looks like that won't be necessary. I now know where you are."_

'Geez, he's smart, isn't he?' I thought.

"_The police treated your first killing as an unrelated incident, but in naturality the first of your victims was a suspect in Shinjuku.  
Of all the criminals that have recently died of heart-attacks, this one's was by far the least serious. Furthermore, his crime was only ever reported inside Japan. I used that information to deduce this much: You are in Japan, and your first victim was little more than an experiment, which means you haven't been killing for very long. We decided to broadcast in Kanto first because of this large population, and luckily, we found you.  
To be completely honest with you, I never expected that things would go this well, but, it won't be too long now before I am able to sentence you to death."_

_"Naturally, I am very interested to know how you're able to commit these murders without being present, but I don't mind waiting a little bit longer. You can answer all my questions when I, uh, catch you. Let's meet again soon, Kira."_

Then all there was white sound. Suddenly it clicked back on to the normal channel as if nothing had happened. I just sat where I was.  
I knew who I was voting for.  
I laughed and punched my fist into the air.

"Yes!


	2. That Person

THAT PERSON

Tohl University was a large and expensive school, filled with many students, that was exceedingly difficult to get into. Today was the beginning of the year, the entrance exams were to be taken that very day as well.

In fact Light Yagami, and L were to be taking that same exam...

And it would also be the day that they would meet Wanderer for the first time.

---

"You there! Student number 162! Sit properly in your chair!"

L continued to sit in his normal position and ignored the protests of the Exam Advisor. Instead, he focused on the test. After awhile, the Advisor's protests faded away from the Hall as he began to give up. Finally, he quit annoying the boy and walked away, quite ruffled. Out of the corner of his eye, he surveyed Light Yagami, not just three desks in front of him. Light turned around and looked at L. L lifted his head and looked straight at him, his wide eyes that spoke indifference were rimmed ( as always would be) with dark bags underneath. They continued to watch each other's eyes silently. Between them, it was almost as if the lion and the jackal were combating for the win. What they both knew, but not the other knew, was that they had reached an unspoken declaration of war. They were to fight, and they were to fall. They had both come to the same conclusion as they saw each other for the first time. They were both a threat to themselves, and both a threat to each other. Light knew this man was dangerous, so he would kill him in the name of justice. L concluded that Light was Kira, and would not rest until justice had been served.

L's eyes drifted back down to his paper. Light's eyes hardened and he breathed a deep, shaky breath.

L was completely oblivious to this. He fidgeted slightly as he watched his test paper. He was actually slightly irritated. The test consisted of nothing more than Mathematics, Japanese and English questions, all of which were far too easy. Sitting in his thinking stance, he rubbed one of his feet over the other in a thoughtful manner.

What L didn't know was that among the sophomores of Tohl (every year, the second-years of Tohl University were to re-take the entrance exam with the students that were to enter Tohl), there was another who was as irritated with the test just as much as he, maybe even more.

Wanderer sat across the room, glaring at the pages in front of her. No, she was not frustrated with the fact that she couldn't see the test; (in fact, all she had to do was touch an exam question and it would appear in her mind) no, she was angry that she had to take it all over again. But she knew that to stay at Tohl she would have to re-take the exam.

She gave a quiet sigh and picked up her pencil.

Wanderer touched the page discreetly, allowing her wits to soak up every question. She searched her brain quickly; finding an answer to every one of them before she began writing.

She finished the test in 10 minutes; setting it neatly face-down on the desk in front of her. And she waited.

What else was there to do?

She laid her head down on her arms and observed her surroundings the only way she could. In her limitless world of darkness, she could sense the beings of those around her and read their emotions. Wanderer scanned the whole room carefully. She didn't want to miss a single person. She had had to scan her comrades frequently when she worked with the Rangers back in The Immortal Realm to make sure that none of them had been entered or contaminated mentally in some way by the Wrathes.

I could feel the inhabitants of the theater's thoughts swirling and whooshing past my ears and around my head. Most of the incoming students were nervous and edgy, some were confident, while others had not a care in the world, and were already finished like me.

And that's when I sensed him.

[i]That[/i] person.

I felt my spine tingle and my lungs close up as his intense spiritual energy ate into mine. I could even get anywhere near his mind to listen to his thoughts. He had lashed out viciously at me like an awakening cobra when my consciousness had probed its way to three feet in front of him. Frightened, I drew back immediately, only to find another spiritual energy trying to beat my perception into submission. This one was of a darker kind, much more malevolent, more ambitious, and overly proud. It was like the other spirit energy, but with its components amplified ten times more.

I pulled back faster than a wounded cheetah fleeing from a lion. I grimaced as I opened my eyes.

I had received a major migraine from the suffocating, pounding blows. I felt like curling up in a ball, crouched in a corner, whimpering. So, since I was in an auditorium, not a private room by myself, I assumed the fetal position for the remainder of the two hours squished in my chair.

When I finally heard the scraping of chairs against the thinly-carpeted concrete floor, and the flipping sound of test papers being meshed together in piles, I stood up like everyone else and stretched. I flipped my long hair over my shoulder accepted the test papers that my line of students gave me. I settled them neatly on my desk at the end of the row. With that I slung my white book/beach-bag over my shoulder and filed out with the rest of the sophomores.

In my tormenting sea of darkness, the waves crashed in fury against the rocks; the waves spinning and twining and merging together as if they were constantly re-enacting some sort of sickening ritual dance, while they tried to crush each other with sheer brute force.

Behind the waves of darkness, fuzzy whispers that focused in and out of tune like a radio unable to catch a signal while being pushed from station to station repeatedly and nonstop. The whispers told me stories. They were stories of the dead; stories of the living, and sometimes stories of the unknown, which only the dead and I will ever understand.

And in the middle of the mayhem and terrifying confusion, I stood. The waves and wind blew around me, surrounding and caging me within like a tower. This was my soul. This was my being. And as I stepped out of the auditorium, watchful eyes that seldom seemed to look at anything, followed me. I turned my face towards where I knew this person was, and looked straight back into his own eyes. I saw nothing, and I saw everything.

I turned away and stepped from the darkness and into the fresh, crisp light.

'_He's the one.'_


	3. Eyes That Watch

"And now, for the freshman address, freshman representative Light Yagami." Said Tohl's Vice Principal, Madatori Ryuzki.

"Yes.", called a slightly pompous voice that was very…stuck up. Like he was only there because he had to be. Like he had been groomed for success his whole life, and figured this whole thing was just a waste of time.

"And freshman representative, Hideki Ryuga."

"Oh, uh, here." Called a voice that was a bit more uncouth, but…(yes, I blushed slightly at this thought) very cute. I heard them both stand. I could feel the vibrations of their feet stepping across the ground, shaking the darkness in which I stood.

_These were they._

Light Yagami was definitely the malevolent, dark soul. Hideki Ryuga was the calmer soul. I stretched my consciousness from my soul, the invisible bond between the two stretched taut.

I got close enough to be able to tell which soul was which, but not close enough for their spirit energy to react. Their souls were so strong, so blinding, that it was almost as if they had slid, unnoticed into my sea of blackness, and they were the only other lights except for me. The bright, pure, intelligent, caring, yet selfish and withdrawn blue glow that carried both evil and good within it emanated from Hideki Ryuga's spirit. The hot, red beam of light was as luscious and dark as a ripe apple; mysterious, influencing and bright and vivid as blood, radiated from the soul of Light Yagami.

As I watched the two men walk to the front of the auditorium, (of course tracing them by their consciousnesses), I was the bright, lonely white light, as pure as someone who has killed can be, standing on the side-lines, watching an invisible war.

I was the referee in a match to the death.

Even though I knew that none of the three of us had ever heard of each other before now, I knew that these men were against each other the minute they had set eyes on the other person.

I was just an aware bystander, hoping that no-one would be killed.

But there was one thing that was clear. I would have to talk to one of them sooner or later, and become a part of the battle.

But who should I choose?

---

I ignored the rest of the ceremony. _Including _Yagami and Ryuga. I just wished I could get the hell out of the auditorium. Although I _did _ feel Yagami's stress level become unbalance, which resulted in his spirit energy bristling in anger, but I ignored it best I could.

Once the ceremony ended, I bolted straight out of my seat and reached the doors before everyone else. Which…kind of creeped a lot of students out, and kind of stopped me in my tracks when I realized how weird that must've looked. In fact, my boltage drew the attention of both Yagami and Ryuga, which made me really anxious for some reason. Everyone just kind of hushed. I gave a very quiet, nervous giggle. This made me want to scram even faster.

So when the doorman opened the door, I kind of did a weird little skippy thing that was a cross between a run and a skip while zooming out the doors.

But I did walk quite normally after that.

After I left, hordes of people began to file out of the auditorium, talking loudly and laughing with each other. Everyone seemed to forget my little incident from about ten seconds before. Standing in the foyer, I smoothed out my school skirt and opened my silvery/bronze purse in search of my cell phone. I texted my friend Destrey telling him to come and pick me up, then shut my flip phone with a snap. I began making my way through the crowded doorway that led to my freedom. (Otherwise know as 'outside')

When I got through the crowd, I scooted away from everyone and leaned against a pillar…that just happened to be right behind Hideki Ryuga.

When I realized where I had chosen to stand I blinked a couple of times and felt like panicking.

'_Shitbags! Why did I have to choose the pillar right behind him?! What is wrong with me? What if he thinks I'm spying on him?!'_

So didn't say anything. I tried to act as though nothing was up. I leaned against the pillar and looked up at the concrete ceiling.

'_Of course I know I'm blind, but he doesn't know that, right?'_

"Hey, Light."

My eyes widened, but other than that I refused to move. I heard footsteps cease, and I realized that it was Yagami that had been going to walk past.

"-Uh, nice meeting you." I heard Ryuga say.

"No. The pleasure was mine." Replied Yagami in a controlled manner.

And with that Ryuga began to walk away, over to a black car that was waiting for him. I couldn't help it. I took my eyes away from the ceiling and watched him walk past out of force of habit. I blinked.

"What an amazing car!" I heard someone say.

"A Limousine?" replied another.

"Well, I'm sure I'll see you on campus." Said Ryuga, getting into the car as an old man held the door open for him.

"Uh, yeah. Take care." Said Yagami.

"That kid must come from some serious money." Continued the other boy.

"-And he's at the top of the class? Where's the justice?" said his friend.

I let out a long breath and turned my head as I heard Destrey calling my name.

"Oi! Wanda! Get over here! I had to leave in the middle of the band rehearsal to come pick you up; Joel's getting mad." He yelled.

"Coming!" I said loudly, turning away from the pillar and running over to the dark green, beat up van with band stickers all over it. I smiled.

This year was going to be interesting.


	4. Strange Encounters

**Strange Encounters**

"Did I mention that Wanda has a crush on Ma-" said Destrey, but was cut off because of the fact that Wanderer had jumped onto his shoulders and had her arms pressed on his mouth, gagging him.

"Matter! I love that shit! Solids, liquids! And my favorite, GAS!" she said loudly, covering up what Destrey was about to say. Of course, she didn't _really _ have a crush on anyone. It was just for show. So no one would get suspicious.

Of course she wasn't pretending that she wasn't from Earth to her friends. They already knew that. They had been involved with paranormal happenings for a long time already.

Wanderer and her friends were standing in Tohl's parking lot that was only for sophomores and up. A little way away through a bunch of oak trees, the tennis courts sat, and above them, on a hill, was the main building.

Wanderer hopped off of Destrey's shoulders, grinning and dusting herself off.

"Hey, Wanda, band practice is at 7:00 tonight, 'kay?" Said Stephanie.

Stephanie was a tall Goth girl that was probably the nicest person anyone could ever meet. She was also extremely hard to surprise.

"Bye Q girl!" yelled another of Wanderer's friends, Kelsey. She was a very sporty and generally a moody female (unless presented with chocolate) that never seemed to get tired of telling others what to do. She also happened to be very full of herself.

"Bye." Said Destrey and Nathan in unison. They looked at each other.

"Later, Wanda." Said Joel over his shoulder who was already heading over to the van.

"Yeah, see you guys." Wanderer replied to everyone.

The group separated, and Wanderer was left on her own.

She skipped down the pathway that led past the Tennis courts. She heard Joel's van skid out of the parking-lot.

'_One day he's going to crash and I won't be there to save him.' _ Thought Wanderer absentmindedly.

***

Light Yagami and Hideki Ryuga were standing on the Tennis Courts as Light unpacked his tennis racket. Ryuga stood awkwardly, the back had a slouching curve, and his shoulders brought slightly forward and in, as if he was trying to become small and unnoticeable.

However, if he were actually attempting to do so he would have failed miserably. His strange appearance brought more stares than it did repel them.

In a seemingly careful way, he transferred a snow-white hand from his jean pocket to the side of his head and scratched the scalp that happened to be completely encased by thick, jet-black shaggy locks that stuck out in an odd manner, reaching just long enough to brush his shoulders.

Ryuga seemed to care more than less (as in_ way _down the negative scale) about his appearance and the impression he gave.

He wore a plain white shirt with long sleeves and an ordinary (but quite baggy) pair of blue jeans. He was also wearing a pair of old sneakers looked as though they had been stuffed onto his feet with much force.

Ryuga turned his head slightly to observe his surroundings with a large pair of innocent-looking eyes with deep black irises and pupils that seemed to observe nothing, but saw everything.

He turned back to survey Light when Light himself began to speak.

"You sure surprised me Ryuga; suddenly saying you want to play tennis as a way for us to get to know each other better."

Light Yagami was a handsome youth; someone to be looked up to.

He had shiny auburn hair with a high tint of red to it. His tanned skin shone in the sunlight _as though _it were pale. His eyes held a strong view as if he had concluded that he was the leader of everyone. But, they also held kindness too. A will to help and achieve happiness for the world shone through, like a light house gleaming through the hazy and torturous darkness of a hurricane.

"Is it a bother?" asked Ryuga, scrutinizing Yagami to observe his reaction closely.

"No." replied Yagami with slight surprise flowing through his voice. His tone of voice took on an amused nature.

"But when you asked, did you know how good I am?" Yagami asked walking past Ryuga who turned and followed alongside him.

"Its okay, Yagami-kun." Replied Ryuga who seemed unfazed by Light's boast.

"I was the English Junior Champion once."

Yagami watched Ryuga from the corner of his eye.

'_If I were to ask him, "Are you a British Citizen?" would he think I'm probing because I'm Kira?_

_Oh Whatever._

_I'll try it.' _

"Ryuga, were you raised in England?" He asked in a pleasant tone.

"I lived in England for five years. But please don't waste your breath. You won't be able to determine L's identity from that." Replied Ryuga. He had said everything so far in such a bored and monotonous tenor, that it would give anyone the impression that he couldn't give a crap what the conversation was even about.

'_Oh, is that so?' _ Wondered Light.

"Well then, since it's our first game how about one set to…six?" said Ryuga.

"That's fine by me." Said Light, nodding.

Ryuga bounced the ball, footed in a strange, bent/ leaning forward position, his legs balanced apart from each other.

He raised his head and surveyed his opponent. Light was leaning forward, tense and concentrated as he held his racket in a strategic position in front of him. He watched Ryuga closely.

'_This is just a friendly game of tennis, nothing more.' _ Thought Ryuga as he continued bouncing the ball.

_Up; down. Up; down._

'_This couldn't possibly determine if Light is Kira or not.'_

He caught the ball.

'_But I know Kira _hates _to lose.'_

He lifted his racket high and threw the ball in the air. He wacked it with such strength that his breath came out as a _'Huh!' _ when his racket made contact with the ball.

The ball sped across the court so fast that Light didn't even have enough time to watch it.

Unseen to anyone but Light, Ryuk the shinigami who had been standing behind light, right where the ball hit the fence, jumped out of the way and let out a girlish scream.

Shocked, Light stood there as the ball bounced off the fence. There was silence.

"Fifteen love." Said Ryuga in a bored voice.

"Whoa! Ryuga! You sure don't mess around." commented Light, standing up properly; to which Ryuga replied cattily: "He who strikes first wins."

Fare away at the task force headquarters, Yagami-san was arguing with the Head of the NPA department.

"With all due respect Sir, the rest of the department runs away with their tails between their legs, and _we're _incompetent?! Do you have any idea how many people are left at Task Force headquarters these days?" asked Yagami-san furiously

If you're concerned with public opinion then you'll want to suppress the fact that most of our detectives would rather let a serial killer roam free then risk their lives!"

There was silence.

"Please excuse me." Yagami-san said finally and turned to leave.

"Yagami." Said the Head of the NPA department. Yagami-san stopped in his tracks.

"What about this 'L' character? Is he to be trusted?"

Yagami-san paused. Then, without turning around he said:

"In my opinion, he's a lot more capable than we are. Right now, even as we speak, he's risking his life."

***

Indeed, as the two middle-aged men spoke, L was playing a furious game of tennis, against a furious opponent.

Many of the students of Tohl had gathered around the Tennis courts to watch the skilled and incensed game. Their eyes seemed to work as one, glued to the ball's seemingly never-ending rally between the two men.

Honestly, you would begin to feel sorry for the ball.

"Are these guys really amateurs?" asked a guy, who had b=just begun watching the game.

"Who are they anyway?" He continued.

"I think their names are Light Yagami and Hideki Ryuga." Said another.

"Those are the same to guys who scored perfectly on the exam."

"Huah!" exclaimed Ryuga fiercely as he hit the ball with as much force as he could.

'_Relax Light!' _He thought.

'_While it's true that Kira hates losing, it's also true that most people would rather win than lose; it's human nature.'_

The ball flew across the net and rebounded on the court, then to Light's racket, who whacked the ball back with just as much force.

'_Is he going to think that I'm Kira if I go for the win? I suppose I _could_ just lose on purpose, but if I do it could work against me, since he'd expect Kira to want to win and also expect me to throw the match to avoid suspicion.'_

Ryuga hit it back.

Light sprung back immediately and hit it, aiming for Ryuga's face.

'_I don't see any way he could profile me based on a tennis match. So, I have to assume he has some other goal in mind.' _ Light continued.

The rally continued.

'_Either way, I'm not going to let him WIN!' _ Light finished, hitting the ball as hard as he could muster, focusing so hard on putting as much energy as possible into the hit.

L lunged, but the ball went under his racket. But it was still so close.

'_Look at that. He's going for the win.' _Thought L with satisfaction.

"That's four games all, Light Yagami to serve." Called the referee.

Unseen and unheard, Ryuk gave his hacking laugh.

"_**And just like that, we've got an umpire, and a line-judge." **_He said, thoroughly amused at how fast everyone's attention had been caught by the game.

A boy came running down the steps and grabbed the guy's arm that had previously asked who Light and Ryuga were.

"You won't believe this! I thought I heard the name 'Light Yagami' somewhere before so I checked! He was the 02, 03 Junior High Tennis Champion! Apparently, during the third-year awards ceremony, he announced that he was hanging up his racket.

I guess he hasn't played competitively since!"

"Hey, hey, what about my Ryuga? Holding his own against this former Junior High champ?" asked a girl who had recently begun obsessing over the new genius student Hideki Ryuga.

The two guys snorted in disbelief. He friend moaned.

"Saki! He doesn't even know you!"

"So what?" asked her friend defiantly. "What's that supposed to mean?!"

While to two girls quarreled, Light served the ball, and the two aggressive men were competing for the win once more.

'_I can see the wheels turning, Light Yagami. I'm already in your head!' _

'_There's no way this tennis match will strengthen our friendship. This is a token gesture, an elaborate act we go through so we can say we're closer!'_

'_Because I wanted to play tennis with you, you'll assume that I'm preparing to take a step closer; laying the ground-work to get to know you better!'_

'_-And then you're going to try and trap me, and by getting me to say something that only KIRA WOULD KNOW!'_

'_However, I'm sure you'll tell me you need to know you can trust me first, and of course the only way to win your trust will be to share what I KNOW about Kira!'_

'_If you want me to discuss Kira with you, it only makes sense that I'd want to ask proof that you are in charge of the investigation, and more importantly, that you are really L as you say you are!'_

'_So it goes without saying that the first thing you're going to want from me is-'_

'_-Some kind of confirmation, from a third party, that you really _are Him_…'_

'_Which means-'_

_The two men were suddenly thinking the same thoughts, and had become one._

'_We'll have to go to Task Force Headquarters.'_

Ryuga just hit what would have been a winning strike, except Light saw it, turned, and intercepted it.

"_In all things, one cannot win with defense alone! To win, you must _**ATTACK!**'

On the word 'attack', Light hit the ball.

L lunged and flew over the ball as it bounced under him.

"Game and set! Won by Light Yagami! Six games to four!" called the Referee.

Everyone called and whistled. From behind the trees, Wanderer was only just emerging, having missed the whole game.

She walked with long, silent strides. She had heard the Referee's announcement.

So, the two enemies had just received their first encounter against each other in a fight.

Hm. That meant the two were now _sure _of their enmity.

She heard and felt many of the people turning to leave, now that the game was over. But, she heard them stop in their tracks and nervously whisper and babble about her.

She stopped at the pathway in front of the concrete steps and looked down upon the scene with distaste etched onto every portion of her face.

She felt both Light Yagami's and Hideki Ryuga's eyes turn from elsewhere onto her. After all, she always seemed to attract more attention than her liking.

She blinked down on everyone, now with a blank, uninterested expression upon her face. Her sightless eyes roamed the whispering crowd, eventually landing on the two men inside of the tennis courts.

Her eyes traveled to Ryuga, and then she suddenly made eye contact with him. The overwhelming sensation crawled across her body all over again, but with less purpose.

It understood that she was not the enemy.

But suddenly a pulling sensation, like a magnet, dragged her consciousness to the part of his mind she most certainly did _not _want to go.

His memories.

And that was how Wanderer found out his true name, and identity.

How she found out that _he _was L.

Now she knew why Light had been so stressed during the Entrance Ceremony.

L had told him who he was.

She had been standing immobile for a minute now, and people were getting confused and impatient. Why was she standing there so long, watching space?

But they were all too afraid to speak against her. To afraid that she would hurt those that went against her will.

But of course that was preposterous.

She would never have hurt a human, even against her will.

She suddenly blinked, coming out of her trance. She looked around apprehensively, then, in a very jerky manner, turned and walked away quickly; as if the only purpose she had in life was to get as far away from those tennis courts as possible.

Meanwhile, L was shocked. He never would have thought someone could stare at someone so long and so hard at a freakish person like him.

"Who is she?" he asked, turning to the referee who happened to be standing a few feet

Away, packing his bags up.

"She? Oh, you mean Wanderer."

"Wanderer?"

"Yep. They say she doesn't have a name. At least, that's what she's informed the Registration."

"Is that so?"

"Yeah, she's a queer one. She doesn't talk to anyone, except her friends, two of which go to Tohl as well. But they don't speak to anyone else either.

Most of the students are convinced that she's insane. But I beg to differ. I just think it was because she grew up without a family; having no relatives or to people to talk can do that to a person." Said the Referee.

"Did she go to an orphanage?" asked L.

The Referee didn't know.

"Anyway, Wanderer passed her entrance exam with flying colors last year; which is amazing, considering that she couldn't even see the paper." Continued the Ref as if L hadn't asked the previous question.

"Why?" asked L.

The Referee turned to him with a frown.

"She's blind."

"Blind?!" asked L and Light at the same time.

"Yeah. Apparently she was born that way." Said the Referee.

And, as he had nothing more to say about the matter, the Referee finished packing up his bags, and left.

A few minutes later, L and Light followed suit, their minds still fresh on the mystery girl name Wanderer.

**Guys! Guess what! This scene was perfect for that whole freaky-mind thing there, cause if you have a look at episode 10, it blacks out at the end of their game and then the next scene is them walking past all the dogwoods. x3**

**3 anywhoo, please review (and subscribe)!! Please tell me what you think of my insane story!!! xD**


	5. Accidents Happen

"Just I had expected, you beat me." L told Light as the walked down a path towards the school entrance that was surrounded by dogwoods. The soft, cherry-colored petals of these dogwoods floated lazily from the trees to the ground.

Wanderer, who had hidden herself behind a tree after her encounter with the true L, was shaking.

She was, truthfully, scared. She had never encountered two human-beings like Yagami-kun and L-kun.

She froze when she heard L speak. She hadn't even noticed the two men walking down the path to the school.

"It's been awhile since I've had to play that hard!" she heard Light say.

"I'm feeling kinda thirsty; there was there something I wanted to ask you about. Wanna go somewhere for a drink?"

"You humored me with the tennis match, the least I can do is answer some of your questions." Said L.

"But, before this conversation goes any further, there's something I must tell you."

"What's that?" asked Light.

L paused before speaking.

"I suspect that you, Light Yagami, are in fact Kira. Now, if you still want to ask me something please go ahead."

I blinked. What?

I heard Light stop walking. L walked a little farther ahead, and then stopped as well. I peeked out from behind my tree.

Light laughed. L just watched him.

"You think I'm Kira?" he asked incredulously.

"Well, when I say I suspect you," replied L in a bored tone, "It's only a one percent possibility. That aside, I don't mind telling you that once I'm sure you aren't Kira, and I can verify that your deductive skills are as strong as I think they are, I'd like nothing more than have you work with me on this investigation."

L turned away from Light and continued walking.

Wanda's eyes narrowed. She could tell that his suspicion was really much higher. She blinked again slowly. But, what would possibly make him suspect Light of being Kira?

'_One percent, huh?'_ Light deliberated. _'That was well worded, because no matter how little it says he suspects me it means he has grounds to prevent me from meeting anyone on the task force. That's quite the preemptive move on his part. He got me.'_

He began walking after L, and soon they disappeared into the building. The minute Wanderer was sure they were gone she sprung up, and ran as fast as she could (without going into an inhuman speed) after them. Quietly, she opened the heavy wooden door and walked in as though nothing was wrong, with a completely indifferent expression plastered on her face.

Quietly, she staked out where L and Light had gone in the building. Calmly, she turned left and padded quickly down the carpeted hallway.

Up a pair of stairs she ambled up, following the colorful essences that lingered from the previous existence of the men in that particular area.

Soon, Wanda came to a small corridor paneled with wood. She could sense an open door. She could feel their essences stronger now. She treaded as quietly as she could to the door. Surreptiously, she had hidden next to the door, using the wall as a shield from unwanted attention. Carefully now, she peered around the door frame.

The two men's beings collided with her face and sent her stomach reeling.

This was new.

The Dulls, otherwise known as regular humans with auras that are nothing special, mingled around these two men in this Coffee Shop.

She could feel the pulsing, beating, vibrant colors that rayed about the two men. How could the Dulls not feel it?

"This coffee shop is one of my favorites in the area, and here there's no chance of anyone overhearing us." She heard Light say, and she pulled her head away from the door instinctively.

'_Yeah. Right. That's why I'm listening to every word you utter, Light Yagami.' _I thought, a twisted smile forming on my face.

"Thanks for showing me this place. I can see why you like it." I heard L say; although I'm almost sure he was just saying so to make conversation.

"Not to mention we're so out of the way here no one's gonna give you a hard time about the way you sit." Light continued.

'_Alright, enough with childish small-talk guys, get to the point of your conversation…' _ I thought angrily.

'_Wasting my time…'_

I tossed my hair just as L started speaking.

"I don't sit like this because I want to- I have to sit like this. You see if I were to sit normally my deductive skills would immediately be reduced to roughly forty percent."

'_Really? Well isn't that just damn peachy on this fine morning. Would you mind if you began your real conversation so I don't have to rip your head off?'_

My thoughts had begun getting increasingly more violent.

"-So, what was it you wanted to ask me?" L finished.

'_Finally!'_

"Right, I'm sure that can wait until you're convinced I'm not Kira. So, please, let's just talk about whatever you want to."

'_EAHH!!! Why are males completely hopeless in general?!'_

"You're under no obligation to do this but, would you mind submitting yourself to a test of your deductive skills?" L asked.

'_I swear to god, do NOT make me come over there.' _

"Sure, why not? Sounds like fun."

'_Are they doing this JUST to piss me off? Because honestly, I wouldn't be surprised.'_

"All right then," I heard L shuffle around a bit. I craned my ears.

"We can begin by taking a look at these."

There was a small _fwip _noise when he sat them down onto the table.

"These are photographs of three notes written by prison inmates while under Kira's control just prior to their deaths; none of this information has been made public."

Light leaned forward.

"You can take as long as you want to look them over," L continued in his trade-mark bored manner. "-Please let me know what you think."

I heard Light pick up the photos. There was a pause.

"Very interesting."

'_Come on, this is child's play!' _Light's thoughts echoed through his mind.

'_there's a print number on the back of each of these photographs…If I ignored this fact and was still able to come up with the phrase, 'L, do you know Gods of Death love apples', what would that mean?' _

'_Clearly, if I read it the way Kira intended on my first attempt, I'd only look more suspicious. But the fact that I'm able to solve this silly code isn't enough on its own to prove that I am Kira.'_

Light's face remained impassive as he began speaking to L.

"It would be quite amazing to learn that not only could Kira kill others but could also control his victims actions. I think Kira wrote these and it seems he's encoded a message for you as well, almost as if he's mocking you."

Light placed the pictures carefully back onto the table-top and pushed them towards the middle of the table.

"If you line these notes up side-by-side and take a look at the first letter of every line it revels a message. Rearranging it like this-"

Light moved the pictures around.

"L, do you know Gods of Death love apples."

Wanda could have gasped. It was a small chance, a slim possibility, but could Kira have found a Death Note? But, she had never come across truth of the statement "Gods of Death love apples."

"But, there are obvious print numbers on the backs of these photographs. Arrange it in that order and you get: "L, do you know love apples Gods of Death."

He laughed slightly. "That doesn't sound right-So based on that it's hard to believe that Kira would have wanted you to read it this way."

Wanderer was quite stunned. Had he really thought the whole thing through this hard, or was he really Kira?

"That's incorrect."

L's quiet statement roused a lot of questions in her throat, but she beat them down.

"Huh?"

Apparently, Light was just as confused as she.

"The thing is, there are actually four photographs."

'_What?! L you cheat!' _Wanderer thought quite angrily. She backtracked.

'_Wait a minute, if the fourth's a fake, which could be very possible, because I don't see how much farther you can go into details, than only the real Kira would know that there were only three, and would therefore never even consider a fourth picture. So that was how he would tell between Light and Kira. Pretty clever.' _Wanderer realized.

"When we add this one it reads: L, do you know, gods of death who love apples have red hands." L said.

You could almost feel Yagami's anger radiating from him.

"But seeing as I only had three photographs to work with, my deduction was perfect!" exclaimed Light.

"No it wasn't." L said quite simply. "The truth is there were four of them. If you had figured that out it would've been perfect."

"Even though you knew the message was incomplete, you decided that there were only three notes. You never even considered there might be a fourth. What do you make of that?"

There was pause. Wanderer could feel Light's despair disappearing.

"Hm. Well, you got me there. I never thought of that." He said laughingly.

Wanderer rolled her eyes. _'Does he_ ever_ give up trying to be cheerful?! Honestly! He needs a bit of gloom in his life.'_

"In any case, the likelihood that this message will lead you to Kira is not very great. Besides, we all know Gods of Death don't exist." Light continued in a skeptical voice.

"If you were me," L said immediately once Light was finished talking, almost as though he hadn't been listening at all, "faced with someone who might be Kira, how would you go about establishing this persons innocence or guilt, you'd need to be absolutely sure."

"…I would probably try to get him to say something that was never made public in any way, something only Kira could know... Kinda like what you were doing just now. " Light answered.

There was pause.

"Truly amazing!" L said softly, almost as though he were talking to himself.

"What's incredible is that I've asked countless detectives that same question and it took most of them minutes to come up with an answer! But you…you immediately thought of a scenario in which Kira was speaking directly to the investigator."

"I'm impressed. You'll make a fine detective Light."

Wanderer rolled her eyes again and puffed out a bunch of carbon dioxide.

"Heh, but it's a bit of a double-edged sword, the more impressive my answer is, the more of a suspect I am." Light said in response.

"Yes, it's about three percent now." L said quietly.

"…However, it's made me _that much more _determined to work with you on this investigation."

"You see, I'm in a position where even if you are Kira, it would still be to my benefit to have you working alongside us. You know why I'd say that?"

"If I cooperate with you there's a chance I can help with the investigation to move forward. And, if I'm Kira, I might reveal myself."

"In other words, if I'm Kira or not you stand to gain either way. It's a very smart move on your part, but I think you might be getting the wrong idea. It's true that I do have an interest in the Kira case, and yes, detective work _is_ a hobby of mine. But I know that I'm _not_ Kira, and I certainly don't want to be killed by him."

"Besides, what proof have you been able to give me that you yourself aren't Kira? I mean, it hardly seems fair for just one of us to be investigated, wouldn't you say? At this point, neither of us can prove that we're not Kira. However, if you are in fact L, I don't imagine that it'd be that hard for you to prove it to me. I think I'd be convinced if say, my father or someone else from the Task Force Headquarters was able to confirm your identity. If you can't do that, then I'm afraid I just won't be able to help you."

'_God, he talks a lot!' _thought Wanderer.

"I don't remember saying that you couldn't meet anyone from the Task Force Headquarters to confirm my identity. I'm currently working alongside your father as well as several other senior detectives from the NPA. Now, if I understand you correctly, I take you to Task Force Headquarters you'll help us with the investigation? Am I safe in making this assumption?"

Suddenly, a cell phone rang.

"Ah, excuse me." Said L. Then another cell phone began ringing.

"Oh, there goes mine." Said Light.

And then, as if on cue, Wanderer's began buzzing. Good thing it was on vibrate.

'_Speak of the devil.' _She thought angrily. She answered quietly.

"_Hello?" _

In the other room she heard L and Light answer their phones.

"Light it's your-"

"My father…he had-"

But Wanderer wasn't listening any more. She was too busy rushing down the staircase.

She was going to the Hospital.

There had been a car-crash.

And all four of her friends had been involved.


	6. Extraordinary

_Look guys, I am super duper sorry about the super long delays. I am such a procrastinator with writer's block. But yes, this is really just a filler. Which even I find annoying. _

_I'm TRYING to get to the point, but I have to add a bunch of fillers to get the plot going, and to show the passing time; I have to show just how many scenes she actually is in. **She was just never seen in the anime for this reason.**_

**_Le Gasp._**

enjoy the filler, by the way.

_

* * *

_

_Dammit! Dammit, dammit, DAMMIT!!!" _I whispered to myself as I sprinted down the sidewalk. I really wanted to go super-fast, but with all these humans around…

"_Joel, you bloody MORON!" _

I picked up the pace. I could see the Hospital in the distance now, looming in and out of my peripheral vision as if it were taunting me. Quickly and silently, as lithe and as invisible as a ghost, I dodged into the traffic, stepping lightly at inhuman speed. I flickered back into sight after I hit the sidewalk bordering the other side of the road.

No one had noticed.

No one ever noticed. They were all just a bunch of naïve humans, distracted and clouded by the haze that descended upon their vision. Some people, the people who were the grouchy, snotty, the 'I'm-too-good-for-everyone' one at work everyday, bragging about their wealth or their possessions, were often the kind of people that after witnessing magic or things that shouldn't happen, forgot it almost immediately. They forgot the memory because their tiny minds, focused on stupid and unnecessary things, couldn't conceive it.

This was the human world. This was what I was born to protect.

_Why though? What was worth protecting? When any friends you made were going to die? What was the point of their existence?_

And then I set off at a human-leveled sprint, and drove on towards my goal. But then, I skidded to a halt. What was I _doing_?! When I could just perform flash stepping?!

I dove into the nearest alleyway and began climbing up the dirty brick wall. I reached the roof and crouched low, hoping no one would notice that there was a blind teenager on the roof of a building…otherwise the situation might turn out a little awkward.

When I was sure no one was looking at that particular building I began jumping, pushing myself off the sides and corners of buildings, all the while getting to the Hospital much faster then if I were still running.

I kind of felt like I was in shock. I mean, you'd think that I'd be used to death by now. I am, but when it comes to friends? I still get…well…incensed and tearful.

When I finally reached the hospital I popped through a window on the 22nd floor. Thankfully, it was an empty hallway. Climbing carefully through the window, then dropping to the ground, I figured out why the the hallway was devoid of life. I was in a restricted part of one of Tokyo's biggest hospitals, and unfortunately it meant that the spot where I stood was a place that I was most definitely not supposed to be. And a consign I most certainly never wanted to stand again.

The Autopsy hall.

Where, if you hadn't already guessed, branched off into cute little autopsy rooms where dead people got cut up. So much fun.

With frozen dead bodies in cupboards, and the place reeking of sterilization, bleach and ammonia, but also, (because I have such a strong nose) the rusty scent of stagnant blood -And trust me, it smells worse than fresh blood. Much worse- the smell had hit me the second I had entered through the window, I just hadn't registered what it was at first. The stench had been steadily growing worse like bacteria, but once I realized where I was, mounted and shot upwards through the roof.

So, of course, before I could start hyperventilating, I practically fell backwards out the window attempting to escape.

I had never been able to deal with more than one human-like body around me in my regular state of mind. It developed on my seventh birthday, the worst day of my life. So far, anyway.

I went invisible. I became conscious of the fact that if someone were to see a teenage girl on the side of the hospital building, deftly climbing about attempting to find a non-restricted room to enter, most likely, they'd have a nervy b. and start yelling for someone to help me.

Help which I most certainly did _not _need.

Finally I found a room on the 32nd floor that was empty. I peered around the room while sitting in a crouched position on the window sill. Geez, talk about breaking and entering.

I entered and shut the window behind me quietly. There were voices outside the door that made me froze. It was _him. _

_**That**__ person._

'_What's he doing here?!' _I thought frantically, clutching the curtain railing (as I was still crouched on the window sill-the inside part, of course)

"So your father, he's down here?" asked L from the other side of the door.

"Yes, room 432."

"Hm. A sequence of aligned numbers. Interesting." L remarked as though he couldn't care less…Which he probably didn't.

'_Wahh?! Why the __**hell **__is he bringing up something so stupid?!' _I thought as I clung to the window sill in silence.

I heard a door open and close.

I breathed once more.

"Thank _God,"_ I muttered to myself.

"That would have been pretty awkward; them walking in the door and I'm hanging from a curtain rail."

I dropped to the floor soundlessly and strode across the empty hospital room towards the door. As I walked, I could feel goose bumps appearing on my arms and legs, a convulsion of shivers scuttling up my back. I reached the door and the cold, metal lever closed beneath my fingers and into my grasp.

I pushed the door handle down hard, and opened the door, silently and carefully. I peeked out –as if I could even see anything!- into a Hospital foyer. I could tell that this particular station was currently unoccupied, judging by the lacking flow of electricity in the area and the absence of living creatures.

So, of course, I waltzed out of the room like an eccentric ghost may do, over to the long oval desks which I cart-wheeled quickly and –once again- soundlessly over. I scurried all mouse-like to a computer. As quick as a flash, my fingers were flying across the keyboard, searching through the database for my friend's names.

"Yes!" I had found them.

I grabbed a notepad and scribbled their room numbers down quickly. Suddenly, I could hear footsteps coming down the hallway. Going off my personal sonar/radar, they were approximately ninety-five feet away and walking quickly.

Quick as a flash, I ripped the piece of paper off its sticky pad and disappeared faster than you could say…well, anything, actually.

Turned out it was a cleaner. Stupid woman.

I sighed in relief. At least it wasn't someone of importance.

I let the heavy door I had hidden behind click shut and leaned against it. I sighed once more and closed my eyes. But then, my skin prickled and my stomach knotted. My eyes snapped open.

I had realized where I was. The emergency exit. The place with narrow staircases, white concrete walls, cold stairway handles, bad lighting, and dank ceilings. I felt the many, insubstantial beings that would hide away from the living in these places notice me. I didn't want that. They might try to get me to aid them. But I couldn't help the fact that they were dead.

I swallowed my fear and stepped calmly down the stairway. I traced their presences. They stood two stairs above me. I raised my eyes upward. If I could see, I would have set my eyes on _previous_ hospital patients, old and young; sick and wounded, silently leaning over the thin, black bars, observing me.

A shiver ran down my spine.

We stood on the different flights of stairs gazing at each other for a fairly long period of time. I blinked, and my suppressed fear that bubbled in my stomach died down. I broke our connection, turned away and strode softly back the way I came.

I opened the door quietly and slipped away from the emergency exit, headed to my friends' rooms. I was _so_ ready to tell them what idiots they were.

But then, I remembered. Light and L. I cursed my curiosity as I veered away from the hall where my friends lay in hospital beds and creeped instead towards the door that the two men had disappeared into. Sneaking around was really starting to get on my nerves.

Creeping across the cold linoleum floor, I monitored the mood frequencies and attention spans of the inhabitants of 432 according to sound. Of course, L and Light were high-strung, but the father was not.

I slid quietly behind the wooden desk and was about to extend my hearing past mortal reason when I heard the clacking of a nurses shoes.

I swore inwardly as she approached the very room L and Light were occupying that moment. Insubstantiality over took me at my will and I waited as the nurse opened 432's door.

"…Excuse me, visiting hours were over ten minutes ago."

As the two men left the room my heart lurched slightly. I was glad that, even though I could sense them, they in no possible way could know I was there.

My atoms flew together to shape my body as I peeked out from my hiding spot. At that moment, I wished for the life of me that I could see the slouching figure, and the tall, proper stature of the two most extraordinary humans I had ever come across.


	7. Insanity

That night, L slept for the first time in his life.

There was no reason behind it. Everyone in the Task Force had left and gone home to their soft and cozy divans. Watari was in the hotel bedroom, asleep.

Sitting up again because of his insomnia, tending to the hundreds of files containing possible 'Kira' leads that needed sorting, L had been wide-awake. He had just had a cup of coffee flavored molasses. He was just thinking of having another when he began to feel drowsy. Puzzled, he rubbed his eyes. He grew even more tired. He rubbed harder. L's lethargy grew worse. His arms became heavy, so he lowered them. He curled up on the floor in a ball, almost as though a spell had been cast over him. His dark eyes fluttered, but he could not hold on to consciousness.

His last thought was '_How strange…Could my insomnia be leaving?'_

And so he sunk into the dark, silvery mist of dreams and nightmares.

_Sinister clouds hung over the wooden house, casting ominous shadows across it. The trees were tall, and creaked and sighed as though they were speaking. Dry autumn leaves made scratching noises as they skittered across the lawn pulled by the evening wind._

_Darkness fell but no stars appeared in the sky._

_Without L's permission, his vision flew forwards through the glass in one of the windowpanes; forwards through walls until he entered a hallway with no windows. _

_His sight focused on a woman of willowy build. She had long, gossamer brown hair. _

_He couldn't see her face._

_The woman was whispering frantically, ushering a small girl with similar, but spikier hair down the hallway. The little girl's bright green eyes sparked with concern as she chewed on the cuff of her worn, dark pink hoodie. _

_The small child reminded L vaguely of someone he knew, but his clouded mind was processing so slowly he couldn't think of who._

_The woman led the girl into a dark room. There was a large door on the other end of the space, obviously leading to the outdoors. L let the dream pull him. He was getting used to sleep already. The lady leaned down and scooped the child up into her arms. The little girl wrapped her small arms around the lady's neck. The two held each other tightly as if neither wanted to let the other go. But the woman put an end to the heartfelt moment by carrying the child over to a carefully carved wardrobe in the corner and deposited her within. _

_The little girl blinked up at the adult as if unable to comprehend the situation. _

"_Mommy?" _

_The said mother hesitated before closing the wardrobe door. L saw that she was crying. He had a creeping suspicion that something terrible was about to occur, but he brushed it off. Nothing bad could possibly happen. _

_After all, it was only a dream…Right?_

_There came a loud thunder clap from the sky. The sound of rain began to sprinkle upon the roof. The mother stood calmly in the middle of the room, encased in darkness. She had concealed behind her back, the leg of a wooden chair. All was silent. _

_Suddenly, a huge crash came as lightning flashed across the sky and the large door at the other end of the room was kicked off its hinges. _

_A man stood in the doorway, an insane smile lit his features. As he swaggered into the room, the thing grasped tightly in his hand caught in the light. A large knife._

_The woman stiffened, but refused to scream, although L could see her struggling against her vocal chords. She took a step backwards. _

_The man launched himself into action. Before the woman could even act, he was upon her._

_Skin and knife met like ice against earth._

_Blood splattered across the walls as lightning struck; it pooled beneath the lady's broken body, oozing across the floor like a blanket with its treachery. Again and again, the knife plunged itself into the dying woman, stealing even her last breath away. _

_And finally, all was silent. _

_The man emerged from the fresh corpse, a horrible grin stretched across his heartless face. A small whimper came from behind the wardrobe doors. His crazed eyes snapped to it._

_He began laughing. _

"_Goodbye, my little song bird."_

_And then the knife was forced into the man's chest with a disgusting _'shlick'.

_As the lights in his eyes dimmed, the man had enough time to utter a final, insane hoot of laughter. _

_He collapsed on the floor, dead. _

_L was shocked. He stared at the carnage and wished he could have never seen it. He wished the dream would end. _

_But the story was not finished._

_L turned his head towards the wardrobe. He saw, through the crack in the doors, the little girl hunched into a ball, staring at the bodies of what L assumed to be her late parents with wide, green eyes, sparkling with tears. She trembled, her face pale as though she was about to be sick. _

_L made to move towards her, but remembered that this was a dream. He could not help her._

_Suddenly, the shaking girl let out a terrified wail of anguish and propelled herself out of the wardrobe, knocking the doors aside as if they were not there. After landing on the floor standing and somewhat upright, she proceeded to push herself forward, her steps uneven. She stumbled toward the hallway door. She collapsed to her wobbly knees at the door frame, her face clouded with shock. She barely noticed, but she was sitting in a puddle of wetness. _

_The little girl gulped the air. Her eyes stared unseeing at the floor in front of her._

_Suddenly, a dark haired teenager staggered through a door farther down the hallway. He hung onto the doorframe for support in his right hand he held a butchers knife; larger than the one that had impaled the little girl's mother._

_The teenage boy's hair hung over his eyes, hiding half of his expressionless face. He changed hands of the knife, and instead used its hilt to support him against the wall._

_The little girl watched the boy with wide eyes. Footsteps dragged across the floor; through large puddles of unknown liquid as the boy seemingly limped towards the other end of the hallway._

_He stopped. The little girl hesitantly stood up. She paused before going to stand three feet in front of him._

"…_Brother?" she asked quietly. _

_The boy lifted his face to the girl faster than his labored stride would have you believe. His expressionless face changed drastically to a murderous smile._

_He began smashing the left side of his head into the blade of the knife, the blows becoming increasingly quicker as his smirk grew wider._

"_S-Stop!" shrieked the child and attempted to intervene. _

_Quick as a flash, the boy transferred the knife from his head to swinging it at the girl. She attempted to jump back, but the glistening, bloodthirsty blade caught her on the side of her left eye, and carved a curved wound from the end tip of her left eye to just below her tear duct._

"_Ah!" she clapped her hands to her now bleeding face. _

_She lifted her head to see her brother standing above her cowering figure, grinning and holding the bloody knife in his grip. He let its hilt slip from his grasp and it fell to the floor with a loud _'clang'.

"_Hahaha…Ha…" the teenager laughed weakly. The only sound was the blood dripping from the disgusting wound in the side of the boy's head. With weak fingers, the boy reached into his jean pocket and pulled a matchbox out of it. Carefully, he struck a match against the box. It lit easily._

_And then the boy collapsed, an insane smile still etched on his face. The match slipped from his hand and dropped to the ground in a puddle of the strange-smelling liquid on the floor. Almost immediately, the fire grew and began to spread like wild fire._

_The little girl screamed and struggled to her feet. She began to run towards the door at the end of the hall. The fire was eating everything and anything behind her._

_The girl glanced back in terror as the flames chased her. The blaze was reflected in her cloudy green eyes, and her mouth opened once again to utter another shriek of panic._

_L stared in shock at the flames, and the tiny girl sprinting for her life. He wanted more than anything to extend his hand and help her. But it was impossible._

_Finally, the girl reached the door. Yanking it open, she stumbled through it and into the heavenly haven of wilderness. _

_Turning back to watch the fire devour her previous home, the child burst into tears._

L bolted awake, his eyes wide and disbelieving. He realized he was trembling and he had broken a cold sweat. He breathed outwards and cradled his head in his hands in effort to clear his mind.

'_Just who _was _that girl?!' _L thought. He _knew _he had seen her before.

But try as he might, the memory would not come.

Shaking his head, L turned back to his pile of manila folders, wishing he could forget the whole dream. Or better yet, not have had the dream at all.


	8. NOTE TO MY READERS

NOTE TO MY READERS!!!

…If I have any, which if I do I won't have them any more after this.

ANYWAY!

I've been getting reviews about Wanderer, and how she's the character from The Host. Well, no.

Stop RIGHT THERE.

My wanderer is NOT the wanderer from The Host. I HATE Stephanie Meyer and Twilight with all my heart, and I hate the weakling characters she creates. Wanda Queue is completely different character from The Host's crappy, whiney, goody-two-shoes one.

A couple of facts about Wanderer (MY ONE)

She is not an alien.

She is not from outer space.

She is practically insane. (in a 'good' way)

She is happy.

She has 'different personalities' well, more like 'different moods', like mood swings.

She looks nothing like the character from The Host.

She lives in her own body.

And she's not ANYTHING like Wanderer from The Host. Only the names are similar. Lets leave it at that.

I'm sorry I had to yell, but you get my point. I do hate Stephanie Meyer with all my heart, so I take offence easily at the reviews that relates my story to hers. Sorry.

I do hope you all don't hate me now!

Love:

TheXWandererXWithin

P.S The chapter will be finished soon!


	9. Hook, Line and Sinker

"Geez, Wanda, you worry too much." Said Destrey, laughing.

I hung my head and glared at my lap.

We were in a large white hospital room, currently known as 'Destrey's hospital room'. He was probably going to leave soon though, seeing as he was almost fully recovered.

Destrey sighed. "Wanda, I'm sorry, but you couldn't have saved him. It was his time."

"That may be, but even so…" I felt my tear-ducts threatening to burst.

And to think, the next morning after my strange endeavor in the hospital, I had marched up to the desk, demanded to see my friends and was met with a sorrowful (no, _pitying_) silence.

And then...they told me.

He didn't make it.

Joel was always driving too fast. Even when he took his first driving test he drove slightly over the limit. After the test though, he began going more then slightly over. Like, break-neck speed.

Of course, he never listened to anyone else (even his own parents) and continued driving as though aliens were on his tail.

Destrey, who had always been his best friend, constantly told him that one day the speeding would catch up to him.

'_And it did,' _I thought.

"Wanda." Said Destrey, breaking the silence.

"Huh?" I asked, looking up.

"Look, get a hold of yourself. You deal with supernatural shit all the time."

Wanderer smiled. What a great way of putting it.

"I know he was your friend, but there's no point in crying over it." Destrey continued with a far-away look in his eyes. He wasn't looking at me.

"Okay." I said. Honestly, he was right. Why _was _I crying?

'_Just being a big baby, I guess.'_

I looked at Destrey, staring vacantly at the ceiling.

I knew that he was finished talking. I stood up and left.

_________________________________________________

"Regarding Naomi Misora's disappearance, shouldn't we open an investigation into this matter?" Matsuda asked. It was late afternoon, and the Task Force was congregated in their 'headquarters'; a hotel room under L's alias, Rue Ryuzaki.

"If we do it should be coordinated separately from the Kira case. Also we will have to use police sketches, rather than actual photos." L replied vacantly.

"We're talking about someone who's been missing for four months already; chances are she's already dead." Aizawa cut in with the air finality. There was a pause.

"…If you're right about that I find it _odd _that we haven't found her body yet. If we did, it might provide us with some much needed physical evidence." L said, breaking the silence.

There was a click as the door opened.

"Ryuzaki." Watari said urgently as he walked through the door.

"Hm?"

"Something seems to be happening on Sakura TV."

Quickly, L and the other Task Force gathered around the TV while Watari drew the curtains closed. L, sitting in his usual precarious position on an armchair, waited as another Task member clicked the 'power' button on the remote control.

They flipped to Sakura TV.

"-In other words, all the reporters and staff here are Kira's hostages. Aside from that, we have a professional obligation to share this message with you. I assure you that this is not a hoax, and that Sakura TV is not airing this tape for the purposes of sensationalism."

"…Kira's hostages? What is this?!" Matsuda exclaimed.

L's unusually large eyes narrowed.

"Four days ago, our program director here at Sakura TV received four tapes. After a through examination there could be no doubt that they were from Kira himself."

"The first tape we received contained a prediction regarding the time of death of two suspected criminals, recently been arrested. And as predicted, at the exact time that Kira had specified both men died suddenly of heart-attacks, yesterday."

'_If what their saying is true,' _L thought,_ 'it's clearly only something Kira could do.'_

"Kira has instructed us to air the second tape today at exactly 9:55 pm, and we do intend to comply with his demands. This tape should offer proof of his powers by predicting yet another death. Beyond that, we understand that it contains a message to all the people of the world from Kira."

Everyone in the Task Force gasped, except of course L and Watari.

"T-This has to be another fake, don't you think?!" exclaimed Ukita.

"I doubt it," said Matsuda, "I'm pretty sure even Sakura TV wouldn't stoop that low."

"And now," the TV announcer said, "the video."

A white screen with the red word, 'KIRA' across it, fuzzed onto the screen.

"I am Kira."

____________________________________________________________

"Wanda! WANDA! GET IN HERE!" I heard Destrey yell. I dived towards the door and with one swift motion, shoved the door aside as I skidded to a halt.

"Destrey! What's wrong?" I cried in panic, my arms flying up, ready to do something…whatever I though I was going to do.

From where I was he seemed fine. I frantically scanned his body organs with my consciousness.

"I'm all right! Get over here and listen to this!"

I calmed down immediately and lowered my arms to my sides.

"What?"

I walked over to his bed. He had the TV blaring switched to Sakura TV.

"I am Kira."

"Eh?!" I exclaimed. Destrey shushed me. He sucked in a breath, the aura of anticipation about him.

"If this video was being aired on April 18th, at exactly 5:59 pm as I requested, then the time is now 5:59, 47, 48, 49…Please change the channel to Dio TV. The news anchor Mr. Guzogomakima with die of a heart attack at exactly six o'clock."

I felt a pang of pain in my head. I knew he was dead.

"Change it." I said quietly, although I didn't need to. Destrey had already grabbed the remote and flipped to the station requested. And there he was, lying in his seat. Assistants and studio directors began coming on and freaking out, telling the Camera Man to stop airing.

I was silent.

Destrey changed back.

"-as punishment, I will present you with another victim. My next target is NHN TV commentator Mr. Sagee Komizoi, who is scheduled to appear in a live broadcast. He too has dared to defy Kira."

Destrey changed the channel. The studio group was already freaking out and running around frenetically.

I looked at Destrey. He looked at me. We didn't say anything.

He nodded his head and I closed my eyes.

"Do you have the mask?"

Wordlessly, he reached into the bag on his bedside table and plucked a red mask from the contents. Normally, things wouldn't be this convenient, but he had had it with him in the crash. We were going to use it at our next gig, but of course _complications_ came up.

I tied the red, no mouth-hole-no-eye holes mask, fitted to my face. Destrey clicked the remote once more and it was back on Sakura TV.

In a flash I was on the other side of the room opening one of the hospital windows.

The words of the 'Kira' tape drowned in my ears as I climbed onto the window sill. I was furious, even though I didn't let it show on my face. I was going to catch Kira if it was the last thing I did.

__________________________________________________________

Flash stepping was easy in the dark; no one would notice me jumping places on building roofs and diving across Tokyo rush hour traffic. I was kneeling on the roof of the building across from the Sakura TV station in a matter of fifteen minutes; any one headed this way in a car would take twenty. I scanned my perimeter. Below me, there was a group of reporters and a couple of low-grade TV cameras, shooting from outside the TV station. There was a single mans body lying on the ground in front of the twin glass doors where you entered the pinpointed location. My eyes narrowed.

I scanned the perimeter once more, this time the other building around me. Next to the Sakura building there was quite a fancy hotel…maybe it was just my superstition but it seemed a likely place where Kira could hide.

I analyzed my situation for a moment. I tried to figure out a way how I could get into the hotel without being seen by the cameras.

'_If I had a distraction I could probably sneak my way into the hotel. I could always go invisible, but it's very difficult to do when I'm going at super-speed...maybe I could get Destrey to somehow formulate one in time…' _

I reached for my cell phone but drew back quickly. I had been distracted by a bus of some sort. Blazing down the road at approximately 200 miles per hour ( that was its limit) it came, and didn't even slow down as it crashing straight through the glass doors.

"Bingo!" I whispered in a perky manner.

Without wasting another moment I jumped, my feet slamming into the ground and then propelling me up with a huge force. By levering my speed carefully down, I landed on a hotel window sill lightly; almost like a balloon. I went invisible and groaned outwardly. I couldn't have been spotted by the naked eye, but I had probably been visible on camera.

I scanned the room I had landed in front of and found it empty. Then I scanned the two rooms on either side of the one in front of me. The one on the left was empty. But the one on the right…was occupied. Its location had the best view of the entrance of the Sakura building. A smirk slowly slid across my lips.

This was no Kira.

It was at best, a worthless follower with the same power.

I didn't need to catch him. I knew that when I caught Kira (which I certainly would do), I would definitely catch the follower.

It was almost a certainty that Kira would use the gifted worshipper to execute his plans.

So, with the feeling that I was a couple of steps ahead of Kira, I sat down on the window sill to watch the scene unfold below me.

______________________________________________________________

I watched as another police car pulled up to the scene. I shook my head. Didn't they realize that they were going to die just like the man before them?

And, as I predicted, both men collapsed almost immediately. I felt a jolt in my stomach.

It was obvious what L would do next. He would step in and take over the situation before it turned disastrous for the police force. The step had to be something big, a plan the second Kira wouldn't be able to penetrate.

Sure enough, with the skidding of many breaks, not more than twenty minutes later did hordes of special members begin emerging from black cars. They had masks and police shields, and were being very careful but quick with their actions. They made their way to the entrance of the TV station and surrounded. Very fast, they were holding blankets between them, leaving no gaps, and circling a lone black vehicle. It took the police approximately four minutes and thirty seconds to complete their set up.

After the passing of another thirty minutes, a man, (only visible to my radar) walked out. I could tell he was the man driving the police van who had unintentionally given me cover.

I smiled. I may not have had gotten the true Kira, but at least I had extracted some information.

As the car drove away, I noticed a couple of people extract themselves from the group.

I watched them warily with my radar as they snuck 'police style' towards the building.

I groaned inwardly once more. I really _had _seen me on camera. I bet they were a few special chosen by L to come and get me, as there was no way he could know Kira no. 2 was in the same building.

Sure enough, just as the crowd was dispersing outside the window, the door was busted open and guns were aimed at me by a small group of three special ops. I stayed in my position on the window sill, my back leaning on the side of the window, my legs bent and my feet resting in front of me. I turned my head slowly towards them. The red mask still covered my façade, but if it were not they would have observed a person wearing a very bored face.

Without saying a thing they marched over to me and wrenched me off my perch. I allowed two of them to grab me by the arms and haul me away. The other followed behind, his gun pressed to the back of my head.

I didn't struggle. I didn't speak. I was calm.

They were taking me to L.

I was dragged into a black van and thrown in the back. They got in after me; one chained my wrist to a bar on the wall and then all three of them aimed their weapons my way. I just rolled my eyes and stayed still.

I gazed out the window as we zoomed down the highway. I could see that they were taking me to another hotel of some sort. We turned down a dark alleyway and slowed to a stop. My silent captors, which had been completely still throughout the whole drive, jumped into action as soon as the vehicle came to a halt; they un-cuffed me and grabbed me by the arms once more. I was towed through a back door and down an empty hallway to an elevator.

Even though I was used to the eternal darkness that would forever encase me, I still shivered as the cold gun pressed against my skull in the pitch blackness of the elevator. I could hear the steady breathing of the three men and almost wished I hadn't gotten myself into this mess. Even though I was going to L and knew I would be on the receiving line of information, I still felt as though being captured and targeted with weapons was going a little too far. I decided I didn't much like these guys' attitudes and proceeded to call them names in my head.

And so I waited.

And waited.

The elevator ride seemed to be one of the longest journeys of my life. Time ticked as slow as a fat, lazy fly trying to make its way across a room.

When the doors finally opened I felt a surge of relief. I felt as though I was going to burst if I had to stay in there for much longer.

I continued to let the three jerk-ass musketeers drag me along the floor. I briefly considered making the passage to L more difficult for the three assholes, but I didn't really want to waste much time.

So I had to let them drag me down an empty hotel hallway. Fun, fun, fun!

_So much fun. Bursting with joy. Honestly. _

My legs were beginning to get carpet burn by the time we stopped. One of the men leaned forward and knocked on the door quietly. I cocked my head. He said three words, two Greek and one English, and as I am able to understand both, I knew what he said: "έχουμε το interferer." Which in common tongue, stands for: "We have the interferer."

_So, what? Suddenly I'm a criminal? Thanks. Really great. I'll make a mental note to never count on _you_ for help._

The door opened, and I was dumped on the floor. I landed in a position I might sit in if I had a tail. You know, sit in a way so I wouldn't injure it? You get my point, right?

Anyway, at least it wasn't revealing in anyway. Damn straight. I heard the door shut behind me. There was silence.

I was 'looking' at the ground as one of the men standing behind me pulled off my mask.

I had arranged my countenance into complete boredom beforehand, (I had been expecting this), and so I managed to look not the least bit concerned at the gravity of the situation...which I honestly wasn't worried about anyway.

"Who-or what- are you precisely?"

It was L's voice. That's when I realized he was standing right in front of me and that I had therefore been staring at his feet, not the floor.

Embarrassing, I know. I should know what's in front of me considering I'm a pretty experienced, ever-living soul.

So, yes. Embarrassing.

I blinked slowly then raised my head to look him in the face. I calculated where my eyes would land and made sure I was looking him in the eye. I blinked again and tilted my head slightly. I let the pause linger in the air for a few seconds.

_Geez, so much tension. _

For some reason, now that I was close to him, I could barely feel his aura/ soul/ existence at all. It was really weird.

"I am Wanderer." I replied, mirroring the same tone as L.

I felt like grinning.

_Hook, line and sinker, I'm on my way._

I was one step closer to getting rid of Kira.

_Sweetness._


	10. Power Over You

"I am quite aware," L said to me. I could feel his eyes drilling into my own. "Of your name. I want to know how you are able to jump great heights without any sort of help."

I was silent.

I was not permitted to tell a human of my powers, of what I am. If I did, I would be subjected to experiments and the people would go ballistic.

'_But this is L.'_

'_I have to.'_

I took a deep breath and stood up. A couple of people gasped and the three police officers made to hold me down, but an older man standing behind L waved them back. I glared straight back at L, defiantly, almost as though I were challenging him, even though I only reached his shoulder in height.

I smirked.

"If I told you, you certainly wouldn't believe me." I said.

"We saw you on the TV; I doubt that anyone in this room wouldn't believe your story."

"…"

I took a step backwards and put my hands on my hips.

"Fine. I'm an Immortal. Is that enough information for you?" I said crossly, waiting for a reaction.

"…What do you mean…Immortal?" a younger voice timidly asked.

"Immortal. Undying. A being that never stops living. Get the picture?" I answered angrily. I didn't like talking about my immortality, even with people who already knew.

There was a long, stretched silence.

"Yeah right!" said another voice scathingly, although I could detect a slight uncertainty beneath the expression in his tone.

I turned my head towards the impertinent one.

I tilted my head once more, looking him in the eyes. I held him immobilized in the mental cocoon I twisted around his mind, forbidding control of his own body. And then I spoke to him through what humans call telekinesis.

"_**It is not for you to decide between truth and falsity, Mr. Aizawa."**_

My words were laced in the enchantment of the unexplained phenomenon properly called magic, which slowly and gently released him from my grasp.

Everyone had taken their attention from me and onto the now trembling man. Most of them ran over to see if he was all right, everyone except L who did not move. I took the opportunity to evaporate; in other words, vanish.

Only L looked around and seemed to notice I was gone, but for some reason did not sound the alarm.

'_Does he understand what I'm doing?' _ I wondered to myself.

At this point, the other men had been able to get Aizawa to speak, and what they heard befuddled their tiny brains even more.

"I-I heard her voice! Ins-i-ide m-my head! S-She told me it wasn't my d-decision…" he wailed, practically overcome with my reflections momentarily entering his mind. With this he crumpled to the ground and was unable to speak.

"**Now do you believe me?" **I asked the assembly, my voice echoing and bouncing around the room so that they would not know where I was.

"Of course. We believed you when you told us. Now come down from off of the bookcase and speak to me properly." L said, turning abruptly and walking towards the only armchair in the room. I was silent as he settled himself into the seat.

I was shocked and slightly scared.

Because here were the facts:

1~ I was divided into billions of invisible particles.

2~He knew where I had retreated to after disappearing.

3~He was human, and there was no way he could have possibly known.

_I'm guessing it's not normal._

Finally, I steeled myself back over into my original façade, and appeared to them, crouched on top of a bookcase.

A couple of people gasped. They were in awe as well.

'_Well, I think I just got owned by the great almighty L.' _

Suddenly I wasn't too thrilled to meet L, and suddenly I could almost relate to Kira.

'_All right, well now I know one thing L's good at. Pissing people off." _

Even so, I couldn't help but smile. Maybe I had finally found someone that I could _really _talk to after all these years.

"How'd you know?" I asked, grinning as I delicately down hopped from my perch.

"When you disappeared I heard one of your feet make a slight thump when you leaped onto the bookcase. I also notice that the bookcase seemed to sag slightly under your weight."

I tossed my hair slightly and dropped my smile. It sounded like he was insinuating I was _heavy. _

"Of course," I said, folding my arms and acting as if it were to most obvious thing in the world. "A mass that is not within its volume and yet connected to it, is twice as heavy than the average human weight."

L looked at me and I could sense that his being was intrigued.

"What do you mean exactly?" he asked.

I explained the science to him, and when I finished I could detect that he was holding back a smile.

Slightly embarrassed, I retorted to his satisfied and contemplating silence with frigid despairing. I raised an eyebrow as I spoke.

"Well what about you? Do you have some sort of weird super sonic hearing?"

"No, but I daresay you do."

"How else am I supposed to get around? I mean, I have another way, but it would take ages to explain." I said.

Silence once again pressed upon the group. The pressure was rising. I knew what they were waiting for because I was waiting for it too.

Everyone was waiting for someone to pop the question; the reason why we were all gathered.

Finally, L spoke.

"What did you discover tonight?"

"Hmm…I was honestly just having an internal battle on whether I should tell you or not. Maybe I should just allow you to discover it on your own; I know you will in due time."

L stared at me.

I stared back.

I could sense irritation from him now, and I was waiting for him to get angry. But for some reason, he never did.

The argument did come though, a small battle of wits between us.

In the end, L, realizing that he would not be able to argue the answer from me, set down his judgment.

I was to remain around L at all times, and to not leave his sight unless instructed. I knew this meant he was either going to coax the answer from me, or wrench it from me, either way was fine as long as he got what he want.

For the time being anyway, I had received what I wanted.

I was going to be a part of the meetings, planning against Kira and I would also be able to get insider information.

Although L probably didn't realize it, he had just been fooled into giving me precisely what I wanted.


	11. Major NoticeI REALLY don

Everyone, I hate to say it, but I'm putting this story on hold.

Trust me, I have two valid reasons!!

Number One, I had a huggggeeeee plot bunny for a fanfiction using the same characters.

The idea is that instead of Wanda being a supernatural being, she is a normal human, who accidentally reawakens L from the dead. It's gonna be REALLY good, so please read the first chapter that I am writing now and fave it.

…I think that maybe it's an even better idea than this one.

Number Two: I have a major case of writers block + a HUGE mound of homework, and I have to do that all this weekend because through Monday to Wednesday I'm going on a school retreat, but EVERYTHING is due Thursday and we'll have barely any time to do any actual work.

T_T" screw Mr. Shell…


End file.
